Thirty Minutes To Fall Apart
by sfdc
Summary: The glee clubbers discover that the creation of a biological weapon has gone wrong during rehearsal, leaving Lima in the wake of some sort of deadly virus that makes everyone infected seem like... zombies.   Brittana focus with other ships
1. Chapter 1

Bad things always happen when you least expect them. You'll get that phone call pulling you out of a peaceful sleep telling you that a loved one has passed or the news will be playing on the background as you bustle around the house getting ready for the day when you hear about the latest crisis. They catch when you're off guard, and this was no exception.

"Guys, I think that number could take us to Nationals!" Mr Schue announced as he clapped loudly. We all slumped back into our chairs in exhaustion with prideful smiles. We'd been practicing that dance heavy number for the past two hours and finally had it down. The other teams would have to seriously bring it to have a chance at beating us.

"Mr Schue can I run to my locker?" Finn asked. "I need to grab my water bottle before we do anything else."

"Yeah sure thing, how about we all take a ten minute break then run through the number once more before calling it a day?" Mr Schue asked us and we all nodded in agreement. Finn sluggishly got up and left while the rest of us were perfectly happy to stay in our seats and rest while we could.

"Hey," Brittany twisted her body until her head was on my shoulder and she was giving me a sort of side hug.

"Hey," I said back with a contented sigh, burying my nose in her hair and reveling in the comforting scent of her strawberry shampoo. "You did really good with the choreography."

"Thanks, I worked really hard," she said with a yawn, burrowing closer to me and making me wish I had a blanket I could drape around her.

"You always do, B. You always do," I mumbled, deciding to close my eyes and indulge in the most rapid power nap humanly possible. For a second I thought I'd actually be able to sleep briefly, but a blood-curdling scream caused both me and Brittany to jolt up and find ourselves completely awake as a result of the adrenaline that quickly filtered into our systems.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked, trying not to sound as alarmed as he clearly was. His eyes were darting back and he was breathing heavily. "Was that Finn?"

"Calm down guys," Mr Schue said shakily, obviously just as startled as we were but trying to keep his cool for our sake. "Someone probably just got slushied by surprise, I'll go check it out."

Mr Schue quickly made his way out of the choir room, leaving the rest of us in an uneasy silence as we listened intently for any other noises of distress. As we listened, I couldn't help but feel that the lack of noise was eerie. Something wasn't right, I could feel it.

"Guys I don't like this," Mercedes said quietly, shuffling her feet in discomfort. "No one shouts like that when they get slushied."

"I didn't wanna say it but I'm thinking the same thing," Kurt agreed, beginning to worry his lower lip. "I've been slushied enough times to know that gasping is the only thing you can do when that kind of cold hits you."

I felt Brittany tense beside me at Kurt's words. We all knew he was right and that whatever had happened was probably worse than a slushy. Besides, who would've had a slushy? Everyone except us should be gone by now, even sports and other clubs would've been done an hour ago.

"It's okay," I whispered against the shell of Brittany's ear and grabbed her hand tightly. She leaned into me and I could feel her hand shaking in mine. "It's probably nothing but if it is you know I'd never let anything happen to you."

Before we could feed each others worries any further, Mr Schue came back into the room and quickly closed the door behind him. He looked pale, maybe with a tinge of green. One thing was certain, he'd seen something far worse than a slushy victim.

"Guys," he gulped and ran a hand through his hair, completely disregarding the obscene amount of gel and work it obviously took to get it looking the way it did. "I need you to listen to me very closely and do exactly as I say."

We all gave our word and waited for Mr Schue to speak again. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself before resuming speaking.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen," he said in what I'm sure was trying to be a firm tone but his nerves were just making him sound terrified. "You guys are gonna follow me and not say a word. We're gonna head to the parking lot and get onto the Cheerios bus and drive somewhere safe."

"Wait, safe?" Tina asked. "What's going on? Is there some sort of criminal in the school?"

"No," Mr Schue exhaled heavily. "Guys if I tell you what's out there now you have to stay as calm as possible so we can get out of here."

"Just tell us Mr Schue," Puck dead-panned. "You can't just lead us out their blindly."

"Okay, I know this is gonna sound crazy," Mr Schue laughed a little and scuffed his foot against the floor. "But I think there's been some sort of disease outbreak that's really serious. Like, human rabies or something."

"Excuse me?" Sugar asked in utter disbelief from the back row.

"In the halls there are people just," Mr Schue waved his hand in the air while thinking of the right word. "Dragging themselves around and moaning. They're discolored and they bite people."

Suddenly I felt myself freeze up and my eyes widen. I never thought this would happen but I knew what this was. My dad had told me about the project he'd been put on at the hospital a while back, he'd been vague but it sounded like they were developing some sort of biological weapon. He couldn't say much since it was top-secret and government regulated. They had thought Lima, Ohio would be a perfect location because who the hell would think to check here for anything? It could be easily kept under wraps.

I didn't like that my dad was working on something that the government was obviously planning to use as a weapon but there wasn't anything I could do about it. My dad was honored to have been chosen for such a project and the hefty paycheck hadn't hurt either. For weeks he was coming home happier than he had ever been before, he was genuinely proud of what he had accomplished.

But a few months ago things had started to get weird; people had started coming to do renovations on the house. It was definitely weird, our house started to feel like more of a bunker than a home with the heavy duty walls he'd put up outside as well as state of the art gates. He'd also expanded the basement somehow but he'd been very clear that it was off limits to me and I was never one to cross my dad when he was being that serious about something. But, every time something got added to the house he'd just smile and say you can never be too careful.

Then two weeks ago he'd stopped coming home as often and when he did he looked... different. He looked miserable, angry, and scared all at once; haunted. His hands would shake and he jumped at every unexpected noise. _Works just getting stressful_, was all he'd ever say to me. But I'd overheard him in his office one day, talking on the phone and telling someone that they had to kill the project before it killed them. Something had obviously gone wrong and it had been wearing on him.

_No, I don't care how much money they've been giving us it's our moral responsibility to stop this! Do you even understand the gravity of this situation? How many people could die? This thing can't easily be contained and we don't know how to cure it. If it gets out, that's it. It's gotten out of hand and mutated in ways beyond our comprehension. It's too dangerous and too many people working on the project have already had to have been handled because of it. I refuse to sit by and watch something I helped create destroy innocent people._

He'd slammed down the phone after that and I ran to the kitchen before he could find out I'd been snooping. I sat down at the kitchen island as quickly as I could and grabbed my phone, pretending to text just in time for him to come out and give me a tired smile.

_You know this place is safe if anything bad ever happens, right?_ He'd asked me and I'd nodded. _Good, now I've got to head back to work. Love you._ I'd told him I loved him back before he walked out.

"Mr Schue," I raised my hand shakily. "I think I know what's happening."

"What?" He and just about everyone else asked at once.

"The government was funding a project to build some sort of biological weapon here and my dad was working on it," I explained, feeling the intense pressure of everyone's scared eyes boring into me. "I think something went wrong and that's what this is. I overheard my dad talking about his project going really, really wrong and that it could kill a lot of people if they didn't stop it."

"Did he ever say anything to you about what to do if this thing got out?" Mr Schue asked.

"Not explicitly, but I think this might be why he'd been renovating the house so much; it's like an army base there now and I think he dropped hints at me saying that I should stay there if anything bad happens," I said, creasing my brow as I tried to remember anything else he might've said to me.

"Well that's just great but what about our families?" Rachel asked. "I'm sure that if what you're saying is true that you're house is a very safe place but we can't just all go there and be left to wonder where our parents and siblings are."

"Rachel's right," Artie agreed. "But maybe we could use Santana's house as a base and call our parents and tell them they should head there."

"Fine, do whatever you guys need to but tell your parents to bring food if they can because if we get stuck in there for a long time the fridge isn't stocked enough to support all of us," I said before standing up and heading toward Mr Schue. "But I seriously think we should get going because I feel like we're just sitting ducks here."

"Right," Mr Schue nodded vigorously. "Guys come one we have to get out of here, stick together and move fast."

Thankfully, everyone was too freaked out and tired from rehearsals to object as Mr Schue opened the door slowly and signaled for everyone to head down the hallway that leads straight to the parking lot where all the buses were. Poking my head out the door, I saw nothing in the hallways and grabbed Brittany's hand tightly before moving to follow Mr Schue towards the exit.

Luckily, things seemed to be going our way so far and we made it out of the school without encountering any of the... whatever these things were. Mr Schue had apparently grabbed the Cheerios bus keys when he'd first gone out to see what had made that noise and we were able to climb on quickly, feeling slightly at ease when the doors hissed shut as the last person got onto the bus.

"Is everybody here?" Mr Schue asked as he slipped into the drivers seat of the bus. Everyone looked around and did a count and found we were all there except for Finn.

We all knew what had happened but no one was ready to talk about it. There was a time and a place for everything and we couldn't let our emotions take over until we got to my house where it was hopefully as safe as my dad made it sound.

The bus kicked into gear, the engine humming rather softly for that of a bus. Sue had always made sure her Cheerios had top of the line transportation and evidently this bus was no exception.

As we slowly made our way out of the parking lot and started down the street, I looked out of the window and caught my first sight of these 'things'. They looked like normal people at a glance, but when you looked again there was obviously something wrong; they had abnormal gaits, almost like they were drunk and their skin seemed to have some sort of sickly tinge to it.

Suddenly, I felt the bus pick up a slight amount of speed before a dull thud accompanied by a bounce of the bus was heard. Rachel shrieked from the back seat and Mr Schue could be heard cursing under his breath.

"Did we..?" Brittany's question hung in the air as she looked at me with wide and panicked eyes.

"Don't think about it, B," I said softly, starting to trace small circles on the back of her hand with my thumb. I wanted her to stay calm and was hoping that she wasn't picking up on the fear I was feeling.

"You're scared too," of course she would notice though, Brittany could read me better than anyone. There was no hiding from her.

"You should try to call your parents," I said, trying to get her to think about something besides being scared. "Everyone else is pulling out there phones so you should to. Tell them to come to my place if they can and bring supplies."

She nodded and pulled her phone out of her bra, the only place to hold a phone on your when your in a Cheerios uniform. Deciding I should probably do the same, I pulled mine out as well. Looking down at the screen, I saw I had one new voicemail from my dad. I quickly typed in my password and held the phone to my ear.

_Santana, I need you to listen to me. Things at the hospital have gone bad and a whole lot of ugly is coming your way, hell everyone's way. You need to get to the house as fast as you can, it's the safest place you can possibly be. Make sure you keep the gates closed and the password for the metal door in the basement is 5724. In that room there are weapons, food, and water. I don't have any time to explain just try and stay away from them and aim for the head if necessary. I love you so much. I'm sorry._

I felt numb as his panicked, almost teary voice, cut off. There had been yelling in the back ground and alarms blaring. I knew then and there that my suspicions about what was happening would be correct and that my house was the safest place to go.

I also knew that I was never going to see my dad again; but I knew that I had to keep myself from freaking out over that fact for a little longer.

Next to me, Brittany looked like she wanted to cry as she stared dejectedly at her phone.

"They won't answer!" she stammered as she redialed yet again. She slammed her fist against the back of the empty seat of us with a cry of frustration as she was routed to voicemail once again.

"Hey," I said firmly, grabbing her wrists and making her look at me. "Calm down."

She just shook her head and her face scrunched in a way that meant she was fighting against breaking into tears. It broke my heart, the way I could feel her trembling.

"Don't go to the negative thoughts right yet, nothing is definitive yet. For all we know, they're totally safe and just have their phones on silent," I said in an attempt to reassure her. But I knew it was crap, who the hell would have their phone on silent at a time like this when family would be fighting to get in touch. But there was still a chance that everything would be okay.

"Okay," she exhaled heavily, trying to keep herself calm. "You're right, it's probably okay."

I smiled weakly at her and pulled her into a hug, letting her head rest against my chest. I looked around as I held her, observing the rest of the kids on the bus.

No one looked happy.

No one looked like they had good news.

In fact, I'd venture a guess and say that some of them had gotten farewell voicemails like I had by the way that hands were cupped over mouths to muffle sobs that were itching to break through.

I looked away, knowing that staring at all of my friends distraught faces wouldn't help me stay calm. I had to be strong until we were safely in my house, I was the only one who knew the codes to get in.

"Santana," Mr Schue called from the front. "Come up here, I need some directions."

I squeezed Brittany before reluctantly letting her go and standing up to make my way to the front. Looking out the large front window I knew that we weren't far.

"I know this is your neighborhood, but I don't know where the exact address is," he explained, exhaustion leaking into his otherwise dead tone of voice. He was worn, but was desperate to keep us safe.

"Just turn left here and keep going into you see that house that looks like a small army base," I joked weakly, anyone's first attempt at humor since this had all started not even an half an hour ago. I had to shake my head a little in disbelief.

Our world fell apart is less than thirty minutes.

As well pulled up to my large house I couldn't help but marvel over just how fragile things could be.


	2. Chapter 2

We made it to my house without a hitch. Well, Mr Schue had to run over a few more of those 'things' but no real problems. But now, as I walked into the living room after changing out of my Cheerios uniform and into practical clothing, I saw everyone slumped on the couches and feeling both physically and emotionally drained.

"Did you see him?" Rachel whispered as I took a seat next to Brittany on one of my couches, her knuckles white from clenching her hands together in her lap. We all looked at Mr Schue expectantly, wanting the answer to the question we'd all been afraid to ask.

Mr Schue blew out a breath of air rubbed a hand down his face before looking up at us, "I'm sorry guys, whatever these things are got him."

I hadn't thought that the energy in the room could get any worse. But, as I'd learned today, it can always get worse. I felt something inside me cringe at the idea of one of the people who'd been an essential part of my life just being gone. Yeah, I hated him for outing me but he wasn't a bad person. Just like the rest of us, he had his good and his bad and I did care about him; even though I tended not to show it.

My pain was nothing compared to some of the others though. Rachel began sobbing and Quinn quickly pulled her into a hug, whispering something in our resident diva's ear as a few tears of her own fell. Kurt was buried in Blaine's chest, his body shaking but no sounds coming out. Puck sat by himself and had that far off look on his face that a person got when they just didn't know what to do anymore.

"Mr Schue, what're we gonna do?" Mike asked quietly, his eyes wide and reflecting how lost he was feeling him. Next to him Tina nodded, as if to say she had the same question.

"Lets just try to keep level heads," Mr Schue said, trying to sound strong once more. "I know that what's happened so far is awful but we don't know how bad this thing has gotten. For all we know people are in the process of containing it right now and it'll be over in a few hours."

"Turn on the news," Sam suggested, pointing over at the large flatscreen mounted on my wall. "I bet we can learn something."

Without another word I jumped up and grabbed the remote on the coffee table, quickly moving to sit back down next to Brittany. I flicked on the tv and felt relieved to find CNN was running the story.

_Well it's seems that this viral outbreak originated in Lima. We're not sure how it started but we do know that this is the stuff of movies that no one ever expects to actually happen. Based on what we've been told the people infected are almost like, well, zombies!_

The anchorman shook his head and laughed in disbelief and shock.

_We haven't been able to get a hold of anyone in Lima since the initial report was sent out that something went wrong in a hospital. All we know is that people should stay inside and do not try to help the infected. We hate to sound harsh saying this but as of now those people are lost causes. The infection is transfered through blood and saliva and apparently those infected are biting people and that's how it's spread thus far. That's all we know for now but we have people working on finding out more so check back in for updates. If anyone out there is watching in an affected area; sit tight, stick together, and stay away from the infected because we don't know the extent of what they can do just yet._

I muted the tv as it went into a commercial break, tossing the remote back onto the coffee table. The reporter was trying to keep people calm but I could tell that he thought things were only going to get worse.

I knew this were only going to get worse.

My dad has always been a practical and smart man. He wouldn't have poured all the money into making the house so secure if he didn't feel like it was truly necessary and based on what I heard in the message he left things had already gone completely to hell at the hospital. In my opinion, it would be getting worse everywhere in no time.

"Has anyone gotten a hold of family?" Brittany asked as she stared at her phone in her hands.

"My dads are out of town for a law conference in San Francisco," Rachel muttered. Her eyes were all puffed up and red and she was gripping Quinn's hand like it was the only thing holding her to the earth.

"I haven't, but then again my parents don't live in Lima," Sam offered up. I'd forgotten that he was staying with Finn and Kurt ever since his parents said he could come back for school. Him and Rory both were lucky enough to have parents who weren't right in the middle of this, hell Rory's parents were oceans away from it.

"My dad was at the hospital," Mercedes choked out, her face was scrunched up and I knew she was trying not to cry. "Him and my mom both for dental stuff and they left me a message that sounded a hell of a lot like goodbye."

If Mercedes parents at the hospital she was probably right about that. I was glad that Wheezy had Sam to keep her sane for the time being. Any other time I probably would've cracked a joke about seeing them pressed up against one another like they are now but even I know that the time to be petty is over. This is my house and I'm the one in charge of keeping people safe, even I'm not cruel enough to tear people down at a time like this.

Besides, I secretly think her and Sam are kind of sweet.

Everyone else was still in a state of not knowing what was happening with their loved ones and the worry was painted on their faces. At least Mercedes and I knew our parents were dead and didn't have our minds in some sort of grief limbo. Brittany's fidgeting next to me told me that she was miserable at the moment.

"Oh my God," it was Quinn who spoke up again first after we had tallied our knowledge of families. Her face dropped and her eyes widened in fear.

"What's wrong, Quinn?" Mr Schue asked, looking panicked by her sudden change in demeanor.

"Beth," she choked out before going into what I could only describe as hysterical crying. "What if this infection got to her and Shelby? Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..."

She hugged her arms tightly across her stomach and began rocking slightly in her seat. For a minute I honestly thought she was going to be sick but Rachel quickly scooped Quinn up in her arms and held her, returning the favor from when she had been crying over Finn. I looked over at Puck to see that all the blood had drained from his face and he was a ghostly pale. He just alternated between looking at a distraught Quinn and looking at Mr Schue, hoping the one adult in the room would magically be able to make this okay.

But, the look on Mr Schue's face told us that he was just as lost as we were. We were all feeling a serious lack of power at being so helpless and I for one was feeling absolutely terrible about it.

I've always hated that feeling of having everything out of my control. It's all I felt when hiding who I was in the world and I'd only just gotten that control back.

"We have to get her," Puck was shaking his head as if to say there was no other option. "We have to get her and Shelby here so they can be safe."

"Puck, dude we can't leave," Sam said firmly to his friend. "Call Shelby before you do anything irrational, for all we know they're out of town."

"Call, right," Puck took a stabilizing breath as he fumbled around in his pocket to pull out his phone. His hands were visibly shaking as he dialed the number and pulled the phone to his ear. We all waited on a bated breath, listening as the ringing softly echoed from his phone.

"_Puck, thank God," _Shelby's voice came through the phone sounding completely and frightened.

"Are you okay? Where are you? Is Beth safe?" Puck fired off the questions with a shaky voice while Quinn practically hung off the edge of her seat in anticipation.

"_Puck, I-I-I don't know what's happening. I went outside to get the mail and this person bit me! I feel sick and my head hurts and I don't know what this is!" _

"Shit," Puck muttered away from his phone before pulling it back to his ear. "Shelby, I need you to listen to me and not question anything I say. Promise."

"_I promise, just tell me what's happening."_

"Go put Beth in a safe room and look it from the inside, close the door behind you so you can't get in," Puck said in as serious of a tone as he could muster.

"_What the hell? Why?"_

"Shelby just do it!" Puck pleaded. "You don't have much time, just do it and get as far away from her as you can while you're still you!"

"_What do you mean while I'm still me?"_

"Shelby you're fucking infected!" Puck was crying now, for the first time all day. It had finally become too much for him and he couldn't contain it anymore. "There's no time to explain, just keep Beth safe so you can't hurt her. I promise I'll come get her as soon as I can and she'll be safe."

"_Are you telling me I'm gonna die or something? Or start acting like whatever the hell my neighbor was?"_

"Yes!" Puck shouted indignantly. "I was trying to sugar coat it but apparently that's not working so you're basically going to become a-a-a-a... a goddam zombie. I don't know just do this thing for you daughter Shelby. We'll come save her and I promise I'll make sure she never forgets you and what you're doing for her now if you listen to me."

"_Oh God, I-I feel really sick Puck."_

"Save Beth," Puck reiterated. "I'm sorry Shelby, I can't thank you enough for being a mother to Beth but please just save her while you still can."

"_I.. okay. Please just get her and don't let her forget me."_

"Thank you, Shelby," Puck breathed in relief.

"_Goodbye, I guess."_

"Goodbye, Shelby," Puck breathed out heavily and snapped his phone shut before burying his face in his hands and letting his body wrack with sobs. As Puck cried himself out, Quinn stood up determinedly and looked to the group.

"Well come on, we have to get her."

"How?" Tina asked, earning a death glare from Quinn that quickly made her elaborate. "I mean obviously we have to but what's the plan? Just charge out to Shelby's and hope for the best?"

"The longer we wait the more infected there will be," Rory spoke up for the first time since this outbreak had happened. "Shouldn't we try and round people before there's too many sick people wandering about?"

"Rory has a point," Blaine agreed. "If we leave now we can get to Beth and check our houses to."

"I think you guys are right about now being better than later, but what do we do when we're looking through a house and an infected person comes at us?" Mr Schue asked. "We can't go out there empty handed."

And that's when I remembered my dad's voicemail; he left me the passcode that metal door in the basement. That means there has to be something that would be useful to survive this, right?

"Guys, my basement," I said, getting everyone's eyes on me. "My dad built this room that I've never been in and he told me the passcode in the voicemail he left me. Mr Schue, Blaine, come check it out with me there's _got_ to be something useful in there."

Without waiting for anyone else to speak, I stood up and headed down towards my basement with Mr Schue and Blaine hot on my heels. I took the stairs of the basement two at a time and hastily flicked on the light switch before practically flying across the room to the metal door that I'd been perfectly content to ignore until now.

_Please for the love of God let there be something useful in here._

I took a deep breath before reaching out the input the code into the keypad on the wall next to the door.

5724.

A slight hissing echoed throughout the room and before I knew it the door was sliding open, much in the way that the front gates surrounding my house did. As the door clicked into place, lights inside the room flickered on and illuminated the pristine, white, and surprisingly large space before us. The three of us stepped in and could only marvel at the what we were seeing.

I can't believe I've been living above this.

Guns. Tons of guns. Both the long side walls were lined with guns along with shelves upon shelves of what I'm assuming is ammunition. Towards the back was what looked to be dehydrated meals as well as at least a hundred of the kind of large water bottles that you'd use in an office water cooler. I would be lying if I said the feeling of safety and relief I had from knowing we could access this was wonderful.

But then I realized something else.

This was _a lot_ of stuff.

And, as I've said, my dad was a practical man who would never spend beyond the necessities.

Based on the sheer quantity of stuff in here I knew that my dad thought that if this thing broke out it would be serious. This is the amount of stuff you have when you're in something for the long haul. But, now isn't the time to lose my shit over that because we need to get ready to roll while there are minimal infected outside.

"Guys," I said, still slightly shocked at what I was seeing. "Each of you grab a gun and some extra bullets for yourself. Grab a little extra to bring upstairs so everyone has something."

Mr Schue and Blaine just nodded, evidently also in awe and not in a position to object to anything I told them to do. I looked around and decided to keep to grab a pistol, ignoring the bigger guns on the wall that quite frankly made me feel uneasy.

We should probably save those for when the density of infected increases.

For now, we'd probably be okay with smaller guns. I for one am hoping we won't have to use more than a few bullets in our search for family members.

The three of us were able to quickly load up and weapons and head back upstairs, leaving the door to the supply room open behind us because why the hell not. When we re-entered the living room everyone jumped a little in their seats at the sight of the weaponry we were loaded with. I was tempted to laugh at their flinching but didn't because of the motto I'd adopted within the last few hours.

There's a time and a place for everything, and it's probably not during some insane viral outbreak.

"Um, where the hell did you get that?" Sugar asked with her mouth practically hanging on the ground.

"Apparently my dad was anticipating this happening and seriously stocked up the basement with weapons and other stuff," I explained, putting all the extra guns on the coffee table in a haphazard pile. Mr Schue and Blaine did the same while keeping a pistol each for themselves.

"So, is there a plan?" Artie asked and I nodded.

Even though I didn't have a plan and was totally improvising.

"Alright, I'm gonna be harsh with you guys. Who has family who they still have a chance of reaching and actually is in Lima right now?" I asked. Everyone raised there hands except for Mercedes, Rory, Rachel, and Sam.

"Okay so we have a lot of stops to make," I muttered and scratched my head. "Who here would really rather not have to potentially shoot a gun at something?"

Rachel, Brittany, Mercedes, Artie, Rory, Kurt and Sugar hesistantly raised their hands.

"Okay, so you guys are definitely staying here to hold down the fort," I decided. "Right now, I need everyone to write there addresses down on a piece of paper so those of us going out know where we should be checking out."

I looked around the room and quickly saw a yellow legal pad and pen and got it circulating from person to person. Quickly enough, it ended up back in my hands and I cringed internally at the sight of so many places we had to head. Thankfully, Lima wasn't the biggest place ever so this would probably only take a few hours. But then again, it was already seven at night and a few hours dragged on a lot longer at night than in daylight.

Not to mention we were all pretty exhausted, but this could not wait.

"Okay, so everyone who's willing to shoot something needs to grab a gun from the table and follow Mr Schue to the bus. Keep your phones on you so we can all be in touch with the people staying and lets roll," I said as authoritatively as I could. Considering I'm Santana Lopez that wasn't much of a challenge.

As everyone coming on the expidition grabbed their weapons Brittany stood up and pulled me into the kitchen and away from everyone else. She didn't say anything at first and just pulled me into a tight hug, holding me firmly flush against her.

"Be safe," her breath ghosted my ear and made me feel a reassurance that not even the gun tucked into my belt could. I nodded against her neck and squeezed her back.

"I'll be back for you," I promised. "And I'll try to find your parents, just sit tight and stay calm."

She nodded back against the top of my head before swooping down and planting a firm kiss against my lips. I sighed into it happily before breaking away, not willing to let myself get caught up in Brittany when there was a serious task I had to get to. I gave her hand one final squeeze before turning around and walking out of the house with the rest of the people coming with me.

Soon enough Sam, Puck, Quinn, Tina, Mike, Mr Schue, Blaine, and myself were back on the bus with Mr Schue in the drivers seat as well as a list of addresses taped to the dashboard.

"Shelby's first, right?" he called back to us.

"Definitely, we actually know she's there," Quinn said firmly. I couldn't decide if the fire burning in her eyes was a good or bad thing. For now, I just hoped that it was a fire that would fuel her in a constructive way.

Mr Schue okay'd the plan and gunned the bus to life. I'd grabbed the remote clicker for the gate from inside and was thankful that I was able to stay on the bus rather than running out to manually punch the code into it. As the doors slid open, I remembered another tidbit of my dad's voicemail.

"Aim for the head guys," I called out to everyone. "If you need to shoot, aim for the head."


	3. Chapter 3

Before my mom died when I was seven she used to tell me all kinds of stories; anything from a medieval stories about two princesses (apparently she knew I was gay before I did) to occasional spooky stories about things going bump in the night.

I just never thought the bumps I'd hear at night would be the sound of a luxury bus driving into infected people in the streets.

It was completely unnerving. I sat in the seats with my eyes closed and trying to pretend I was anywhere else, ideally some place with Brittany where it was bright and sunny and not experiencing some fucked up zombie-esque virus running around. I couldn't even bring myself to look at the window because I didn't want to have to see anymore infected until it was absolutely necessary.

Looking around the bus, the half of the glee club who'd decided they were willing to shoot some people up had faces that ranged from anywhere from completely vacant to utterly determined. Obviously no one was particularly excited about having to kill someone but we also knew that if this thing was as serious as it seemed it was pretty inevitable. Besides, it's better to kill the infected than risk letting the infected get to our families.

Assuming our families are still alive.

I for one had nothing in particular to gain from this outing but we honestly couldn't afford to leave another person at the house and I wasn't about to force someone into wielding a gun. I'm sure we'll all have to at some point but, and this is mainly because I know Brittany would hate it, I'm going to try to postpone that for as long as possible. For now, my main concern is getting Beth. The thought of her alone in that house where Shelby is probably running around all infected by now is not pleasant; but not as unpleasant as the thought of Shelby losing control before she'd been able to lock Beth away.

I've never even seen the kid outside of some pictures but Quinn and Puck are my best friends aside from Brittany and I would never want them to lose such an important part of them. It was bad enough when Quinn had her punk-rebel-whatever phase, I can't even imagine the kind of personal hell she'd be in if something happened to Beth. And Puck wouldn't be far behind her; despite the fact that most people would think he'd be able to stay strong I know that it alter his being in a catastrophic way if something happened.

"Okay guys," Mr Schue called as he stopped the bus in front of what I assumed was Shelby's house. "We need to have some sort of game plan for when we get off of this bus."

"Kick ass, fuck names," Puck growled, standing up and cocking his gun. "Get in, get Beth, get out at all costs."

"Puck just wait," I was surprised that it was Quinn that spoke. "Mr Schue's right, we can't go in there and get bit while trying to save her. We need to be safe for her."

"Fine, someone come up with some fast," he grumbled as he leaned sideways against a seat back.

"I think we should just stick together and keep quiet," Mike suggested. "We don't know anything about how the infected people behave except that they like to bite. They could have great hearing or sense of smell or be really fast, until we know we have to be careful."

"Okay, so stick together and shut the hell up," Puck reiterated.

"And aim for the head," Tina restated what I'd said when we'd first got on the bus.

"I guess that's as good as we can do for now," Mr Schue sighed. It was obvious he wanted a better, safer plan but he knew this would have to do.

"Alright, lets go!" Sam said determinedly as we all stood up. As we exited the bus I couldn't stop my fingers from playing with the handle on my gun, the nerves making me feel as though I had to be touching it at all times.

Looking around we saw that the streets were completely empty. Light was coming from behind the curtains of Shelby's house, so at least we wouldn't be in the dark at any point while inside.

"Me and Puck will lead," Quinn whispered just loud enough for the whole group to hear. "We're the only ones who've actually been here."

A quiet murmur of agreement flowed through the group and we began our walk through the door. Thankfully, it was unlocked and we didn't have to worry about finding some way to break in. Much to my trepidation, I ended up being the last inside. However, the relief I felt closing the door behind me was absolutely astounding and ironic considering I may be on the verge of having my very first up close and personal encounter with an infected.

My ex-glee club coach no less.

"Okay, where's Beth's room?" Mike asked, his eyes darting around the room and faint sheen of sweat on his forehead; a look that pretty much all of us shared except for a stone faced Quinn and Puck.

"Down the hall, last door on the left," Puck pointed down a hallway that probably seemed a lot longer than it actually was. To make matters worse, it looked like every other door but the one to Beth's room was wide open; making it a just fucking perfect opportunity for an infected Shelby to pop out and try to take a bite out of one of us.

"Okay guys, ummm," Mr Schue scratched the top of his head and looked at us, disbelieving that he was about to say this to his students. "I guess we should all have our guns ready to fire."

"And by the way," I cut in, realizing this seriously need to be said. "I don't know if any of you have ever fired a gun before, but for the love of God _do not_ freak out and accidentally shoot one of us."

Everyone nodded their agreement and a chorus of clicks echoed through the house as guns were cocked. With one final deep and hopefully calming breath to try and stabilize our shaking hands, we began moving down the hall.

Puck and Quinn were up front, peeking into every room and making sure it was empty before allowing their bodies to be fully in front of the frames and subsequently open to unwelcome bite attempts. Despite the fact that we all trusted each other to no end, we all felt it necessary to look into the rooms for our self.

But hey, efficiency never hurt anyone.

Finally, after what I'm convinced was a goddamn lifetime, we found ourselves clustered around Beth's door. Puck reached forward with trembling fingers and touched the nob.

"Locked," he stated as he jiggled it without result. "Looks like Shelby had time to do what I told her."

"Now what?" Blaine asked.

"Stand back kids, I'm getting my daughter," Puck said with a smirk as he backed up and lifted his leg, the rest of us falling away and giving him room. With one well placed quick and a loud grunt, the door splintered against it's hinges and banged open, smacking against the wall of the room. Along with that bang came a loud cry from inside the room.

Without a word both he and Quinn rushed inside, the rest of us filtering in behind them. Over in the corner farthest from the door was a crib that without a doubt held a perfectly healthy, just slightly terrified, blonde haired kid. Puck set the safety on his gun and tucked it back into his waist band before scooping Beth up and cradling her against his chest, burying his face in her hair and whispering what I'm sure were reassurances in her ear. Quinn put one hand on Beth's back and leaned into Puck's side, laughing in some sort of semi-hysteric relief.

"Guys," Tina interrupted the short-lived reunion. "Maybe you should save this for the bus where it's safer, we should get out of here now."

"Right," Quinn said with a firm nod, back in survival mode and heading back towards the door with Puck at her heels.

We all silently decided that Quinn and Puck should be in the back this time so Beth would have her own personal set of guards to keep her safe. Blaine ended up in the front while I was feeling rather secure in the middle. Knowing that all the other rooms in the hall were empty we found ourselves back in the living room almost instantly.

"Sit tight for a second guys, I'm gonna check out the window to make sure we have a clear path to the bus," Mr Schue said as he reached forward to pull back a curtain and peer outside.

We all were able to breath easy for a moment, watching with small smiles as Puck and Quinn tended to Beth and tried to keep her from crying again. It was the happiest and most at ease I'd felt in the few hours since this crazy thing started. Getting Beth was a victory that made me think we would actually be okay.

But then I remembered that things happen when you least expect it.

I kicked my brain back into gear the second I remembered that I shouldn't let my guard down outside of my house; just in time to realize that there was another room adjacent to the kitchen, probably to a bathroom, with it's door slightly ajar.

And then that door opened further and a groan emanated throughout the room that chilled me to my very core.

Before I had time to react a figure was charging at us, making what I could only think to describe as animalistic and rabid noises. A second later, Mike let out an 'oopmh' and was tackled to the floor by none other than the woman we had so foolishly thought we'd avoided.

"Mike!" Tina shrieked as she saw her boyfriend thudding against the floor with a ravenous Shelby on top of him. Mike called out for help as he straightened his arms and pushed against her, trying to keep her snapping jaws away from any part of his flesh.

Adrenaline pumped into my system, canceling out the paralyzing fear that I'd briefly felt. I knew I couldn't shoot Shelby with risking the bullet traveling through her into Mike, so with all the strength I could muster I lashed out to kick her in the side and effectively fling her off of Mike. She let out some sort of high pitched snarl as she landed on her back. Before she could get up again, I put my weight on the center of her chest and drew my gun.

In the few seconds I was looking at her I noticed a lot of drastic manifestations that had occurred in the short time she'd been infected. Her eyes were frighteningly bloodshot with a green and purple tinge around that spread beyond the edges and almost to her the bottom of her nose, the skin on her lips was chapped and peeling and from the lips came the kind of foaming that you think would only be exaggerated to scare you in a horror movie, and the rest of her skin just looked sickly. I snapped back into action when I felt hard hands scrabbling against the material of my jeans and, after the slightest moment of reluctance passed, I remembered my dads words and shot twice.

A sickening crunching sounded as the two bullets penetrated Shelby's skull, followed by an ear-splitting wailing from her before she fell limp beneath me.

My chest heaved as I stared down at her dead body, my arms still elongated and holding the gun out before me. Slowly, I lifted my foot and backed away. The room was deadly silent, not even Beth made a single peep.

Mike still lay on the floor, his eyes wide and breathing completely irregular. I pushed the safety back into place on my gun and lowered my arm so it was hanging limply at my side. Looking up at the faces of my friends I saw a mixture of fear, respect, and utter disbelief at the fact that that had just happened.

We were clearly all feeling shocked at realizing just how real this was. The city around us was changing and we our lives were legitimately in danger; we could be attacked by the infected at any minute and all we could do was be ready.

"We need to go to the bus," Mr Schue finally spoke up, his quiet tone enough to stir us all in the dead silent room. No one said a word as Tina and Sam helped a still stunned Mike off of the ground. Determining we had a clear path to the bus, Mr Schue lead us back outside and into a place of what I'd like to think was at least moderate safety.

We were still silent when we filed onto the bus and back into our seats, only this time we all sat clumped together in the front rather than spread through all the rows of seats. Mr Schue started the bus and the only sounds we heard were the humming of it's engine as we pulled away and Mike's shaky breathing as he cried quietly, curled up in Tina's arms. Puck and Quinn held Beth between them, not looking away from her, while the rest of us just stared at the back of our seats thinking about how little we wanted to go explore other houses. No one wanted to encounter another infected, especially in the dark and when we're so exhausted.

But we also knew that the people we were looking for might not be there in the morning, which is the only thing that kept anyone from asking if we could return home.

I practically leapt out of my skin when my phone vibrated in my pocket, flinching hard in the seat and feeling my heartbeat pick up in the instant before I realized what it was. I pulled my phone out and felt the most miniscule of smiles forming on my face when Brittany's name lit up on the screen.

_Is everything okay?- B_

_So far so good, we got Beth and we still have to check everything else out- S_

I figured I wouldn't give her the bad details until we got back. I didn't want her and everyone else back at the house freaking out over the thought of any one of us not coming back. Hell, _I _didn't even want to think about that.

_How long 'till you're back?- B_

_Probably a few hours, we've got a lot of places to go- S_

_Well, cross Artie's place off your list, he got a call from his parents saying they'd gotten bit- B_

_Shit... Okay. Is he okay?- S_

_As okay as anyone who just had to say goodbye to their parents can be- B_

_Alright, well sit tight and we'll be home before you know it- S_

_Okay. Be safe, I love you- B_

_I promise we'll be safe, I love you too- S_

With a sigh, a slipped my phone into my pocket and decided I might as well announce the latest update to everyone.

"Cross Artie's place off the list, his parents were bitten."

You hear Blaine cursing across the aisle and a soft thump as his head falls back against the seat. I hate to put it harshly but, even though we had only seen Artie's parents in passing, learning that they'd been infected allowed for an even more somber mood than before to fall over us.

That's pretty fucking somber.

We all spent the rest of the drive towards the Fabray house in silence except for the occasional gurgle from Beth and some sort of tired cooing coming from Puck and Quinn. But, after pulling up to her house and seeing the door swung wide open with infected practically swarming it she too stopped making any noise. We drove away from that one, already knowing that there was nothing inside to find. Blaine only lived a few blocks from Quinn and his house was in a very similar state, leaving us to drive away from yet another home that had been deemed a lost cause.

We were all starting to feel like Beth had been a stroke of luck and that everywhere else was done for when we pulled up to Kurt's house.

Kurt's very infected-free looking house.

"Alright guys, looks like we're in business!" Mr Schue said as happily as anyone in this situation could. Blaine and Quinn decided to stay on the bus with Beth, both feeling to dead to be of use in any sort of expedition after seeing their own homes. This time around, we wasted no times with making plans and quickly exited the bus to head into Kurt's house. The curtains were too thick to tell if any lights were on inside, but the closed door seemed to be a good sign.

Closed and locked, we very quickly found.

"What the hell do we do now?" Puck asked, and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him.

"Says the man who was faced with this very same situation when we were getting his daughter," I said incredulously. I couldn't help but be a little glad that my sarcastic side wasn't completely doused by this outbreak.

"Right," he said with a slightly embarrassed nod, prepping his foot to unleash yet another kick.

"Or," Sam cut in and placed a hand on Puck's raised leg to keep him from kicking just yet. "We could ring the bell, they might be hiding out in there. Burt might have a gun and if the door flings open he could get a little trigger-happy."

"Right," Puck said again and pressed the doorbell like a civilized human being. We listened as the sound of the bell could be heard inside, muffled by the door. A few seconds passed until we heard foot steps rapidly approaching the door.

"Who's out there?" we all collectively sighed in relief as Burt's voice came through the closed door.

"It's Will and some of the kids," Mr Schue called back. There was a quick shuffle as locks were undone and the door was soon opened, revealing Burt holding a shotgun with Carol peering around the corner down the hall.

"What the hell are you doing outside?" Burt asked. "Haven't you heard the news? I already had to shoot one of these things when it came a little too close for my liking."

Burt pointed towards one of the hedges at the edge of the lawn and sure enough, there was a body laying on the ground.

"We know," I said, taking over the conversation. "That's why were here, you guys need to come with us because my dad knew this might happen so my house is ridiculously safe and loaded with survival stuff."

"Wait, what?" Burt asked, looking absolutely dumbfounded.

"We'll explain later, just grab whatever you need and get on the bus. We've got other people to find," Mr Schue promised, earning a nod from Burt at the confirmation of another adult. He and Carol quickly disappeared back into the house, returning minutes later with a duffle bag each slung over their shoulders.

"Lead the way," Burt said, grabbing Carol's hand in his own and following us back to the bus.

"Wait, where are the boys?" Carol asked once she realized the rest of the glee club wasn't on the bus.

"Some of us are back at the house because they didn't wanna have to possibly shoot a gun just yet," Tina said hesitantly. No one wanted to be the one to tell Carol about Finn so an awkward mood took grasped us all.

"Well I get Kurt but I've taken Finn shooting loads of times and he loves it," Burt said to no one in particular, making us realize that our unspoken plan of getting them safely to the house before telling them was out the window. It would be way worse to give them false hope than give them the bad news on the bus.

"Burt, Carol," Will ran a hand through his hair that had long ago lost his shape. "I'm really sorry but Finn got infected back at the school."

All we could do is watch as Carol's face crumpled and sobs began ripping through her body. Burt pulled his lower lip into his mouth and his forehead scrunched up in the way that only a dad's can as he took in the news and simultaneously held his wife close.

It feels like a lot of what we've been doing lately is watching situations that we could do nothing about. I for one was getting pretty pissed off about it; that feeling of helplessness is one that no one enjoys.

But, I figure it's better to make peace with this feeling sooner rather than later.

I have the feeling that it's going to be pretty common thing.

**A/N: Two things.**

**Brittana kiss=die happy**

**Reviews? The little feedback I've gotten is really great but less isn't always more. I'm really into this fic and working hard on it and reviews are motivational/let me know people actually care that this story is being posted. **

**Hope you all are diggin' this fic :3**


	4. Chapter 4

Death has always been a weird thing for me. I never know how to react in the moment, which makes me seem like a completely heartless bitch because I'm the only person who's not visibly upset over bad news. It always has taken me longer to have the reality of a situation sink in, to realize that there's a person who you'll never see again, who's voice you'll never hear, who's touch you'll never again feel. A lot of people feel the gravity of that realization right away and will immediately break down but not me, I'm the kind of person who sits on my pain before letting it rip through me like a category five storm; because when it hits, it hits hard.

I've been like this for as long as I've had exposure to death. My mom was the first person I knew who died; I'd understood what dying was and how permanent it is before but had never had an encounter with it before her. I remember it like it was yesterday, dad and I had ordered a pizza because he couldn't cook and mom was working late that night. We had these pizza nights at least once every other week and I absolutely cherished them because it meant that I got dad all to myself, even though at the same time I'd always flip my shit when mom came home because I always wanted to see her.

That particular pizza night was a good one, I'd asked dad how he and mom met and he was telling the story to me for the first time. His eyes absolutely shone as he spoke, grinning wide and toothy, using hand gestures, the whole nine yards. Seeing and hearing dad tell the story was when I learned what love was; finding a person who sees past your flaws and accepts them, hell loves them, regardless of what they are, who sticks by you and appreciates you when you have your guard completely down and are acting like a fool, and finally who can make you happy in ways that you don't understand but know you have to just accept because why fight a good thing. Dad loved mom, mom loved dad, they loved me, I loved them; simple, everything about love was so beautifully simple to me back then.

Dad told his story and then told me it was time for bed, but I didn't want to sleep because mom always got home first and was there to put me to bed with dad. But dad said that mom must be running late tonight and that she'd be there to give me an extra big hug in the morning to make up for it. I was better back then, not so argumentative and jaded, so I just listened to dad and did as he told me. He put me to bed alone that night, and little did we know, that was the way it would always be from then on.

The doorbell rang that night, pulling from the fitful sleep I'd been in due to the fact that mom hadn't been there to tuck me in. I think it was around midnight, but I don't remember. Dad must've been asleep because the doorbell rang once more before I heard his footsteps going past my door and towards the staircase. I don't know who I thought was at the door, but I do know that I expected dad's footsteps to come thumping back up the stairs and past my door once more in a matter of minutes. Minutes passed and I heard nothing, so I decided to go investigate for myself.

In my favorite red-footy pajamas I crept down the stairs, hands brushing past the banister slats as had always been a habit of mine. I could hear voices as I made my way towards the living room that had the front door attached to it. As I got closer, I realized that none of the voices sounded familiar, not even the voice of dad. Hiding behind the wall, not wanting to risk actually looking in and being seen, I tuned in to find out what was happening.

"_Tell me how this happened,"_ dad's voice rang softly through the house and right away something sounded wrong.

"_At the intersection of Fourth and Montgomery," _a man's voice I'd never heard before was speaking now. He sounded like the kind of person who was normally very business like but was making the effort to sound human. _"It's usually not very busy this time of night so your wife was the only person rolling through on a green light when a truck going what we estimate to be at least 30 miles over the speed limit ran the red and struck the side of her vehicle."_

"_The paramedics think that she died on impact, she wouldn't have suffered,"_ a gentle woman's voice took over and clarified for me what this conversation was really about.

Mom was dead. She wasn't coming home and I wasn't getting that extra big hug in the morning. And, in that moment, all I could think to do was keep on listening.

"_What about this other guy in the truck?"_ dad asked, his voice was sounding shaky now but he was trying to stay strong. Dad was always hesitant to show emotion, let alone in front of strangers; I definitely inherited that from him.

"_Hit and run," _ the man said. _"But unless this guy was just passing through town it'll be easy to find him. There won't be many trucks with that much damage on them driving around town. We're looking for something green based on the paint chips left on your wife's vehicle."_

"_30 miles on impact and he could get away?" _dad has asked in disbelief. _"Shouldn't he be dead too?"_

"_Probably sporting their fair share of injuries, but not necessarily dead," _the man explained. _"The hospital is on lookout for anyone coming in with injuries that would match that situation, but there's no guarantee this guy will be brought to justice."_

"_What now?" _dad sighed after a period of silence.

"_Get some sleep," _ the woman spoke this time. _"In the morning we're gonna have you come down to the morgue for identification. We found her I.D. in the car but it's procedure."_

Finally I'd had enough and stole away back upstairs, slipping under my covers and wrapping them tightly around myself; but not as tight as mom always could. I just lay there, thinking about what all I'd heard meant. I felt empty, knowing mom was gone, but I wasn't crying.

Aren't you supposed to cry? 

But I wasn't, I knew I was so sad that I felt absolutely sick but I wasn't crying. That made me feel worse because I felt like if I wasn't crying I wasn't really that sad and that meant that mom dying didn't really matter even though it did and I felt sad about it but since I wasn't crying I wasn't sad enough. My young mind went on like that, ranting to itself like it was Rachel Berry until I heard my door creek silently and I immediately pretended to be asleep.

Dad's footsteps create the faintest of thuds as his shoes lightly maneuvered across the wooden floor and toward my bed. Once they stopped, I felt a dip on the side of my bed as he sat down and gently started running a hand over my hair.

"_I don't what to do,"_ I'd never heard him sound so weak as he whispered to what he assumed was my sleeping form. But at that same time as he sounded weak, he had a certain fire in his tone that ever so slightly shone through his obvious sorrow. _"All I know is that I'm gonna make this okay for you, no matter what. It'll be hard but you and I, we're Lopez's and a Lopez is nothing if not strong. I'll make it okay, I promise."_

He sat on my bed, stroking my hair a few more minutes before standing with a sigh and leaving. I didn't move again until I heard his footsteps disappear down the hall, followed by the light click of his bedroom door shutting behind him. I wanted to think more but dad's touch mixed with grief made exhaustion fall over me and before I knew it I was asleep.

The next morning I woke up and I was excited to get my extra big hug. I practically leapt out of bed and had made it halfway down the stairs when I remembered last night. Mom wasn't waiting downstairs with breakfast and she never would be again. I felt dead, but I didn't cry.

I walked the rest of the way to the kitchen to find dad without any of the bounce my step had had before, finding myself dragging like I had been deprived of sleep and was still completely exhausted. Heavy, I felt heavy.

In the kitchen I found dad sitting at the kitchen island with red rimmed eyes and staring into an untouched cup of coffee he held firmly between his hands. He didn't look up right away, so I sniffled in a way of announcing my presence without seeming like I was actually announcing myself. He looked up and gave me a tight lipped smile. I gave one back and he waved me over to sit next to him. I was a short kid, so I always had to jump and put some effort into getting into the tall chairs surrounding the marble topped island. Normally, dad would laugh light-heartedly as I made a chair look like a mountain but today he just watched in silence.

"_Mija," _he said when I finally was seated. I already knew what he was going to say and couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. _"You know I love you, right?"_

"_Yeah,"_ I'd mumbled with a small nod of my head.

"_Alright,"_ he sighed and ran a hand through his hair that he hadn't gelled up yet. He wasn't as religious about his hair gel as Mr Schue but he tried to look slick for his job. And mom always thought it made him look handsome, so even though he never was one to care too much about his looks he'd stay sharp for her.

"_I don't know how to tell you this mija, so I'm just gonna say it. Mom's not gonna come home, she got into a car accident last night and she didn't make it,"_ he ripped off the bandaid, never having been a man to drag things out. Most people would think it sounds heartless but I think it's better than dragging it out and building everything up; that's like building a house of bricks only to yank out the bottom one and have the whole thing fall down on top of you. If you just say it it feels like the house falling on you isn't quite as tall, for me at least.

"_You understand, right?" _he asked when I didn't say anything. I just nodded and for the first time I looked up to meet his man who last night during his story had had the most hopeful, shining , happy, inspired, and everything else good look in his eyes was gone; in it's place were glazed over, blood shot, sad, and completely lost eyes. A big part of his fire had gone out and nothing would ever rekindle it.

That was my breaking point, that's when I finally cried. No, I didn't cry, I completely shattered from the inside out. Dad picked me up and carried me to the couch in the living room as I cried into his shoulder. He whispered reassurances in my ear that I knew were for him as much as they were for me.

Through my mom's death I learned that I just have a higher capacity for taking in sorrow, it takes more for me to spill over than a lot of people. Mom dying was awful, but dad's pain on top of that is what caused the overflow. As I've gotten older my tolerance has increased and increased to the point where I usually don't break down until I've gotten some alcohol into my system.

Or until some bastard tells the world about my greatest struggle to further his campaign.

People think I'm this huge bitch because I don't get as visibly sad or anything else as other people. Being in the closet has made me a master of hiding how I truly feel and making my capacity for holding onto sadness before a meltdown even greater. I've also found that being snarky increases that capacity; if I can cut down another person they'll be too busy being upset or offended to notice the pain in my eyes.

But now I'm back to the question I'd asked myself so many years ago; why aren't I crying? I may not show it but I do love the people in glee club and want them to be okay, so why aren't I feeling more upset right now when they're clearly suffering? Maybe I'm not upset over Quinn's parents because they were assholes and Blaine's parents because I'd never even seem them, but why aren't I upset over Finn? We had our differences but I did love him in a weird way. Shouldn't I just be upset that there's so much death happening? That there's a damn good chance more of us are going to be dying? Or what about the fact that my own dad is dead? _Or_ that I just killed my fucking teacher? Is my capacity _really_ high enough to be able to push all this insane shit aside?

But, all those questions would have to wait. We just pulled up in front of Brittany's house and I needed to be focused so I could get them out safely; I needed these people to be safe, I needed Brittany to not have to feel the loss that comes with the death of ones parents. I also needed them to be safe for me, they'd been a second family to me over the years and had been so supportive when I finally pulled my head out of my ass and let Brittany tell them about us. When I'd been scared of what my dad would think, even though deep down inside I knew he loved me too much to care about the gender of the person I loved, they still sat me down and told me that on the off chance that something went wrong they'd be there for me.

People who love as much as the Pierce's deserve to live and be safe. I want them safe because I love them. I want them safe because I want the world for Brittany.

"Lets get in and get out," Mr Schue declared as he opened the doors for him, Sam, Puck, Mike, Tina, and myself to go on this particular rescue mission. I felt like it was darker outside and looked up to find that there were no stars in the sky, clouds must've rolled in overhead and blotted everything out.

I lead the group up the pathway to the front door that was so familiar I could've walked it in my sleep. The house was dark, no light coming from it; I didn't know if I should take this as a good sign or not. What I did know, however, was that I didn't like the fact that the front was open by just a crack.

"Do you think we should even bother?" Mike asked. "I mean, people don't just leave there doors open so this probably means something bad."

"Shut the fuck up and keep going boy-Chang," I snapped, not wanting to admit to myself that Mike was right. "There's no infected in sight, I'm sure they're fine."

_Except not at all. _

I shook the negative thoughts off of me and continued forward, the rest of the group lagging behind me. They were all feeling skeptical about going in and none of us wanted to have to fight with anything, especially after seeing how intense things could get with Shelby. All I knew in that moment was that I was going to go into that house and that everything was going to be fine; it may not look good but one of the first things they teach you in school is not to judge a book by its cover, right?

Everyone was still at least five feet behind me and showing no signs of coming any closer just yet when I pushed the door open completely with the barrel of my gun. It swung open easily and without a single sound except for a light tapping as it's path of travel was interrupted by the wall. With a deep breath, I stepped inside to the familiar living room and fumbled along the wall for the light switch.

When the lights flickered on my eyes immediately fell upon an upturned couch. Looking around more, I saw the glass center of the coffee table was shattered and the rug atop the wooden floor was bunched up rather than pristinely flattened against the ground as it usually is.

"Santana," Tina said hesitantly. I whipped around at the sound of her voice and saw the group all huddled half inside and half outside in the frame of the front door. "I think we need to go."

"We've only looked at one room," I hissed in annoyance, they shouldn't be so negative when we haven't even seen a single infected here yet.

"Tina's right, Santana," Mr Schue said softly. "We can't be taking risks right now."

"Either you guys go wait on the bus or come with me, I'm not leaving without Brit's parents," I said with finality before turning around and heading up the stairs where everyone's bedrooms were.

At first I'd practically been running up the stairs but halfway to the top I stopped and slowed to a cautious pace; something just didn't feel right, I could some sort of dread in the pit of my stomach and it wouldn't go anyway no matter how hard I willed it to. Even thought the feeling wouldn't go away, I still refused to stop. At the top of the stairs, I looked down the hallway and decided that the master suite at the end of the hall would be my best bet. It was only as I passed Brittany's closed bedroom door that I realized that no one had followed me upstairs.

_Bunch of fucking cowards._

Even the dread mixed with being alone wasn't enough to stop my feet from carrying me forward until I was stopped outside of the closed door of Mark and Dana Pierce's bedroom; my second set of parents bedroom, the parents of my soulmate's bedroom. No light was coming from the door and it was dead silent but still I couldn't turn around and found myself easing the door open, my gun poised and a promise to myself to avoid being trigger happy so I wouldn't accidentally get startled and shoot something living.

In retrospect, this was a probably one of the dumbest things I've ever done, but I squeezed my eyes shut once the door was completely open and just breathed for a moment before stepping in. I took the fact that nothing attacked me while I had my guard down as a good sign and hesitantly stepped through the threshold and into the room.

The first thing I saw when I flipped on the light switch directly next to the door was blood, enough blood to know right away that this situation would have nothing but a negative outcome. I didn't want to look any further but I felt like there were magnets behind my eyes drawing me towards something that I didn't want to see.

I walked further into the room and stopped where the first splatter of blood on the carpet lay, staring down at it and praying to anyone that it wasn't from the people I'd come to save and rather had come from an infected they'd killed when they made their escape to safety. But, as I slowly turned my head to the left, I saw exactly the opposite of what I'd wanted to see.

Laying between beside the king sized bed that a young Brit and I had run to to seek comfort from summer thunder storms lay Lana Pierce in a bloodied heap. I felt the air rush out of my body as I choked out a gasp and felt my knees wobbling beneath me. The only thing that kept me from falling was my own survival instinct because Lana was not alone.

Crouched beside her with his hands scrambling through her ripped open stomach was Mark, bearing all the ailments that Shelby had had when I had seen her and more. His arms, legs, chest, and face were completely covered with the blood of his wife who he was still rummaging through and occasionally bringing a piece of her flesh to his lips which unleashed hellish moans whenever they opened.

It was too much for me to handle and I soon found myself fighting the urge to be sick, unwilling to give in and leave myself in such a vulnerable position when I was in imminent danger. However, my gagging alone was enough to cause Mark's head to whip towards me and finally notice that he had company. His eyes seemed to narrow before he quickly rose and faced me down.

"Please don't," I begged quietly, praying to anyone out there that he would just leave me alone and I wouldn't have to plug Brittany's dad and my second dad with bullets. "Don't you know who I am?"

He tilted his head at the sound of my voice and I took the opportunity to raise my gun and aim at his head in case it really came down to that. We were staring at each other and I hoped that maybe, just maybe, an infected person could still remember the people from their lives and hadn't completely forgotten who they are and who they love and who loved them. For a second I thought I would be able to just walk away, but that all was flung out of the window when he unleashed a shriek and came charging towards me. Knowing I had no other choice, I closed my eyes and fired the entire clip into him.

Only when I heard the thump of a body hitting the ground did I open my eyes again. I'd hit him with every shot, evidently getting at least one in the head because from where I was standing Mark look very dead; unmoving and just... lifeless.

I couldn't stay any longer, it felt like the walls were closing in on me and seeing two of the most important people in my and Brittany's life laying dead on the floor was too much for me. Without another glance I spun on my heel and ran out of the room and down the stairs, stopping only to grab a framed photo of Brittany and her parents from their last trip to Hawaii off of the wall before peeling out of the front door.

The first thing I did when I got outside was fall to my knees and start heaving on the ground. It was only a matter of seconds before the contents of my stomach were splattered on the grass of the Pierce's front lawn and I was choking for air. I sat down and pulled my knees to my chest, dropping the picture and gun to the ground next to me while I tried to stabilize myself.

"Santana! Oh my God guys get out here," a voice was screaming in the background but I couldn't focus in on it and identify who it was coming from. I was too wrapped up in getting air into my lungs and pushing my hair back out of my sweat covered forehead.

"Santana!" the voice still sounded distant despite the fact that I knew the person was right next to me. Still, I made no effort to acknowledge them.

"I'll grab here, we need to get out of here now," Puck, it was Puck speaking this time and it must've been his arms that looped behind my back and under my knees to scoop me up and carry me back to the bus.

"Picture," I gasped out, flailing slightly because there was no way I was leaving that behind.

"Hey, calm down," Puck's voice was surprisingly soothing as he spoke gently to me and tightened his grip. "We got it, just hold still so I can get you on the bus."

I just nodded and went back to focus on my breathing as I was placed on a row of seats back on the bus. I heard the door hissing shut and could feel the presence of everyone gathering around me. I closed my eyes and just listened after being laid down on my back.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Puck sounded much less calm and collected than when he'd been carrying me.

"We all heard the gun shots," Tina. "She must've had to fight something in the house."

"So? She fought Shelby and was fine?" Mike.

"Oh my God, someone check her for bites! What if she's fucking turning?" Puck again, it sounded like he was going to start crying. There were a few gasps above me and everyone started talking at once.

"Guys!" Mr Schue's voice boomed and effectively silence the mayhem. "Calm down, this isn't helping anyone. Just step back and I'll look her over for bites."

I felt hands moving over me, trailing awkwardly across my body and checking for any indentations of blood that would indicate a bite. Part of me wanted to kick back and tell them to back off because no, I hadn't been bit. But I couldn't move, I felt paralyzed and all I could do was listen and keep picturing the scene I'd just escaped from.

"We shouldn't have let her go in alone," Mike laughed almost hysterically. "What the hell were we thinking? We knew it would end badly, we could have at least restrained her and forced her back on the bus."

"She had a gun, Mike," Sam argued. "You can't restrain a person with a gun."

"Do you really believe she would've shot us you idiot?" Puck asked, sounding absolutely dumbfounded. "She's not insane, she would never hurt one of us like that on purpose."

"Enough!" Burt's voice came into the equation now. "I get it, we're all scared and worried and feeling guilty or whatever but arguing won't help her now."

Finally, I felt Mr Schue's hands pull away. Had I been in my right state of mind I probably would've socked him right in the face for touching me but he had every right to, I wasn't in a condition to tell them I wasn't infected and they couldn't take chances.

"No bites," Mr Schue announced.

"Then what's wrong with her?" Quinn's quiet voice came from somewhere further back on the bus.

"I don't know," Mr Schue sighed and I could practically hear his hand going through his hair yet again. "She must be in shock or something, I can't imagine she saw something pleasant in there."

"It's scary," Blaine mumbled.

"I know she's a tough kid but you guys have to remember that you're all just that, kids," Mr Schue spoke out to everyone. "These things we've seen today are extremely traumatizing to anyone, let alone a bunch of teenagers. Santana's the only one of us who's actually shot one of these things, probably at least two since we heard the gun shots from inside. No, not only did she kill someone she killed Shelby who isn't just some stranger. We've been through some much today, especially her, so we just need to get her home and to safety so she can get out of whatever this state she's in is."

"What about the rest of the houses?" Puck asked. "We've still got a bunch of places."

"I know that," Mr Schue snapped and I could just picture everyone shrinking back slightly. "But we're all exhausted and at least half of us are out of commission for the night. We're of no use to anyone unless we're on top of our game, so we're gonna head back to Santana's and rest. We can head back out in the morning."

"Mr Schue's right," Blaine agreed. "We should head back."

"You're just saying that because you're parents are dead!" Puck shouted and even I felt myself flinching at his sudden outburst. "If there was still a chance you had someone out there there's no way in hell you'd wanna hold off on getting to them!"

"Guys no!" I heard Burt's voice accompanied with a shuffling of feet. Puck and Blaine must've looked like they were going fight each other. "Our number one priority is staying strong as a unit, no fighting each other."

"And Puck I get that you wanna save your mom and sister but that was out of line," Carol's dull sounding voice spoke up for the first time. I'd forgotten that he and Finn had been best friends before the whole Quinn pregnancy issue so Carol must know him well. "Just sit down and keep a level head because we're headed back and that's final."

Grumbling followed by a slight pressure beside my legs, Puck must've sat next to me.

"Alright, everyone just sit tight I'm gonna take us home," Mr Schue said with a sigh. He sounded unbelievably tired and I knew part of it was defeat over the fact that we weren't heading to his place tonight. People seem to forget that he has someone to lose too.

I soon felt the bus moving beneath me and contented myself to listening to the soft rumbling of the engine, hoping it would calm me down enough to steady my still erratically beating heart and pull me out of this stupor I'd fallen into. A warm pressure cupped the side of my face and I felt a thumb stroking over my cheek. It felt good, like I was safe. That paired with focusing on the bus engine was enough for me to stop replaying the scene in the bedroom over and over in my head and actually start breathing like a normal person.

"You better snap out of this soon," Puck must've bent over because he was whispering directly into my ear so no one else would hear. "Brittany will be scared if she see's you like this."

Puck knows me all too well and my eyes fluttered open at the words, accompanied by a gasp. I felt like I'd just woken up from a nightmare even though I'd been completely conscious this entire time. I stared up and saw Puck smiling down at me weakly.

"You scared me too," he admitted putting a hand under my shoulder and helping me up until I was leaning my back against the window of the bus and facing him. "I really thought you'd gotten bit for a second."

"I heard," I whispered. I may have been unlocked physically by Puck being a tricky bastard and using Brittany against me; she would already have a hard enough time learning of his parents and she didn't need seeing me in my weird state on top of that, apparently my subconscious was seriously in tune with my heart when it came to matters involving her.

But none of that changed the fact that I felt absolutely heart broken. Everyone important adult in my life aside from Mr Schue was pulled away from me today and it hurt like nothing I'd ever felt before. Hell, two of them had died at my own hand to top it all off.

Why the fuck wasn't I crying?

I'd been through enough to go into an extreme case of shock and become physically ill but I hadn't shed a single tear. I knew I'd reached my breaking point and that the pot had without a doubt boiled over after going to the Pierce's but I wasn't crying. Instead, I had that feeling you get when you've cried so much that you are simply incapable of producing more tears. It didn't make sense at all, and that confusion on top of the grief didn't help at all.

"Hello, San?" Puck waved his hand in front of my face. "Did I lose you again."

"No," I muttered. "I'm just, I don't know."

"Hey is that Santana?" Tina asked from the aisle behind Puck and I.

"Yeah, she's awake," Puck answered and a chorus of relieved sighs sounded throughout the bus. Puck looked me in the eyes and must've seen that I really wasn't in the mood to deal with the questions that were bound to be on the tips of everyone's tongues. "Just let her alone for now, she's tired."

"Thanks," I wanted to smile at him but I couldn't, but Puck could always read me and knew I was grateful. He just nodded at me and put his hand on my knees which I had hugged to my chest, allowing us to sit in the silence for the rest of the bus ride home.

In that silence I took the time to think about what would happen when we got back to the house, mainly what I was going to say to Brittany. It killed me, knowing I would have to deliver the worst news of her life to her and know that, as of now, I'm not strong enough to tell her things will be okay because I'm so far from believing it myself.

But, as luck would have it I didn't have much time to figure out a plan because before I knew it, the bus was coming to a stop within the safety of my property.

"Can you walk?" Puck asked as he stood up, looking down at me and holding out his hand. I just nodded and accepted the help to stand up. For the first time since I'd come out of the Pierce house I got a good look at everyone and they all looked like shit, except for Beth who was sound asleep in Quinn's arms. We were all tired, sad, angry, and utterly baffled over the fact that this was all actually happening. It was a good thing Mr Schue had put his foot down and brought us home because in our condition there's no way we would've all made it out alive if we'd encountered another infected.

In silence, we filtered off of the bus one by one, Puck never straying from my side as he must've still been worried I'd go into shock again and be rendered unable to stand on my own two feet. I appreciated his loyalty but also hated the feeling of weakness that came with knowing his concern was completely reasonable.

"Oh my God! Dad! Carol!" Kurt's voice reached my ears first when we entered the house and made our way to the living room. He crashed into Burt's arms at lightning speed and Burt was quick to wrap his son tightly in his arms. I was happy for Kurt to the greatest extent I could feel it at the moment, but I also felt a pang of sorrow and jealous at the thought that my own dad was unable to comfort me. Carol quickly found her way into the group hug and the small family fell into silence. I looked around, now feeling like I was intruding and saw that those who had stayed behind had managed to find the barrage of blow up mattresses and spare bedding we kept in the multiple linen closets around the house and set them up throughout the large living room. Mercedes and Artie were asleep on their own respectively while Sugar and Rory had taken up residence on one together.

"Where's Quinn?" Rachel's voice made my head snap to the side and face her. "Is she okay? Does she have Beth?"

"I'm here Rach," Quinn's soft and tired voice came up behind me as she made her way towards the midget. Rachel smiled through her exhaustion and wrapped an arm around Quinn's waist, not wanting to wake up Beth with a full hug.

"You should take one of the guest bedrooms," I said, surprising myself that my voice was working at the moment. "What with Beth and all."

"Thank you," Quinn smiled at me before grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her up the stairs behind her. Puck sighed audibly next to me and I wanted to quirk an eyebrow but couldn't bring myself to do it. Maybe when I'm back to my normal self, whatever that even is anymore, I'll be more inclined to investigate why Quinn brought Rachel of all people with her.

"San," the voice I wanted to hear most and least cut through my thoughts. I looked up from the ground that I'd been fixated on and saw deep blue eyes staring at me with furrowed eyebrows indicating her concern. "Is everything okay?"

"No," I whispered. "It's not."

And finally, I began cried.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter because it totally kicked my ass for hours until I was happy with it. It's hard figuring out if what you're writing is good or crap on your own sometimes, so maybe a Beta would be useful for me (hint, hint).**

**Some people have requested more action and I'll get there, but right now it's still only the first day of the outbreak so there aren't all too many infected they'd be forced to deal with yet. And, honestly, I've never really written action stuff before so I have to teach myself how to make that good.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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